Blooming Love
by AmythestSiren
Summary: An unexpected meeting with a young hansome man who saves her from two flirty guards...when Sophie thanks him, he reveals that he is being chased and injured, and a storm rolls in. So she takes him into her hat shop, and everything takes off from there...
1. Chapter 1: Quite The Wild Meeting

Disclaimer: I do not own Howl's Moving Castle or any of its characters. I dedicate this story to Ms. Jones, the author of this book, who passed away March the 26th, 2011.

Chapter One: The Mysterious Gentleman

The various beads and ornaments in the small paper bag made clattering sounds and bounced around as Sophie walked furiously down the alley, below the bridge, her red-brown braid wavering side to side as she went.

"This is the last time I'm ever going to buy hat decorations at that store." She muttered. "This is ridiculously expensive." In her mind she searched through the town, trying to remember a store that sold cheaper ornaments.

But as she was walking down the alley, looking down at the bag, she saw out of the corner of her eye something that contrasted from the dull gray of the walls. She stopped and looked up.

"Hello, little mouse." She saw a young man, maybe in his twenties –but definitely older than herself – with his right arm planted across her path to the wall to her left, blocking her way. He looked down and grinned at her, raising his eyebrows in a way that made Sophie uncomfortable. He flipped his dirty blond hair sideways, as another man – a brunette with a mustache – approached from behind him. They looked like the guards from around the castle, with their fancy uniforms and neat appearance – probably taking a break. "Does the little mouse need help with something…?" He seemed to be flirting with her.

The brunette man peered in for a closer look. "Oh, it is a little mouse." He seemed amused.

Sophie swallowed. "Let me pass, please!" The blond guard laughed.

"Hey, mate. Your mustache must be scaring her."

"What? Why would it scare her?" said the brunette man, seeming slightly offended.

Sophie backed away slowly, step by step, until she bumped into a wall and froze. _What now? _She thought.

Sophie let out a gasp when the wall reached out and wrapped an arm around her shoulder in a very casual way.

She whipped her head around sideways to see a platinum-blond young man with eyes like blue glass marble, tall figure and a handsome face. He smiled at the guards, not looking at Sophie.

"Oh, sorry, this is my date." He said to the two men.

The brunette man gasped as the blond guard's face twisted into a look of horror.

"You… you are…" The mysterious rescuer blocked off the man's words, pressing his finger onto his mustache and lips.

"Shh, why don't you two go get on with your work?" The man moved the finger from the mustached man's lips and thrust out his arm, pointing backwards with his thumb. The two men marched in the direction of the point, boots stomping, making little noises in their fear and confusion.

The man turned to Sophie, his arms still around her in a casual hold. Her eyes averted in all directions, not knowing where to look. His bleach-blond hair was a contrast from his azure eyes. His amazingly long eyelashes batted against his pale skin that seemed to be lit from underneath, seeming like the moon.

"I'm sorry about those men; they have no bad intentions, but they can be shallow and rude sometimes." Sophie turned her eyes a second too late from the sparkling jewels that hung from his ears and neck - both an emerald green color – and looked at him.

"Thank you so much for helping me, but I must go on to my shop." She told her savior, blushing at the fact that she couldn't stop staring at his beauty.

"I will take you to your destination, wherever that shop may be." He held on to her shoulder still, and started walking. He smiled at her, creating a weird sensation in her belly.

"Oh, I'm sure that won't be necessary," she said, trying to slip out of his grip.

"Yes, I think it is," the man replied. "What if this kind of thing occurs again?" he walked faster.

Sophie swallowed again. What were this man's intentions? "No, my shop is not far…" she was interrupted by the blond man's finger.

"Shh, I'm being chased, and I am wounded. Help me out." he whispered into her ear. She was about to ask him what in the world he was talking about, then stopped. There was a spot of red on the sleeve of his white and silver shirt that he was resting on her shoulder. Sophie tensed up at the sight, and started walking faster. The sky was darkening. _I don't know who this is,_ she thought, _but I must help this man – after all, he did help me._

The man's breathing grew heavier but shallower as they continued walking. "Hello? Are you alright?" she asked, looking at the man. His head now hung down, the only support he had being her shoulder. He did not answer. She took a look at his shirt again.

The small spot of blood was now a deep red pool that was dripping onto her clothes.

Sophie took a breath and walked even faster, but had to relocate his arm on her shoulder when he started going limp and collapsing to the ground; the blood loss was getting to him.

A few drops of liquid fell on her face. Sophie looked up to see gray thunderclouds gathering in the sky. The drops increased in amount and fell faster and faster.

"Mister?" she asked in panic. Still no answer from the man that was now drenched in blood and rain. She hopelessly looked ahead and saw the familiar street. There were only a few people running from the rain.

There was a bright flash of light. "Oh, dear," Sophie whispered as she pulled the now-unconscious man's arm back up again. Then there was a deep, crackling rumble. "Oh, curses!" Sophie muttered. Raindrops rode on the harsh wind and whipped her clothes and hair in all directions. "Fleas and mosquitoes! This is not getting any worse." Breathing in relief when she saw the sign of her hat store, she practically dragged the man inside, set him temporally on the floor, and closed out the storm behind her.

Drizzles of rainwater fell out of her hair as Sophie pulled her hair out of the drenched braid and shook it out. Her hair fell around her shoulders in a messy wet curtain.

"Mister, we are in my hat shop. Are you sane?" Her rescuer answered her question with a light snore. She stifled a laugh, and quickly got the first-aid kit from her cabinet. She opened the wooden box and grabbed the linen strip and unwrapped it from its paper wrapping, then set it to the carpeted floor.

_Oh, right. His clothes. _She thought.

Sophie gently unbuttoned his shirt. She slid the sleeves off of his arms, the sleeping man groaning softly in pain. She winced as the wound was revealed. A somewhat of a deep cut, seeming like it was made by a dagger. Then she went on to pull out the shirt from underneath him, and set it aside.

_Good thing he's asleep, _she thought as she lightly wiped his blood away and packed his cut with sugar, like she heard from a doctor who bought hats for his wife once in a while. The sugar crystals turned pink as they absorbed some of the blood. Sophie gently but firmly wrapped the clean linen around his arm, tucking the end into a looser strip. She sighed in contentment after the work.

Sophie stopped and stared at the man's naked torso.

The green jewel handing from a delicate silver chain was set slightly sideways on his collarbone. The man's abs was well-defined and seemed solid. His wide shoulders made him more masculine, a contrast with the man's delicate and handsome face, his eyes closed and his nose a smooth, high mountain in the middle of his face. Full, pink lips glistened in the moonlight that had broken through the thick clouds and rain, and had arrived at her window.

Then Sophie came back to the situation – she had let a stranger, particularly a young man inside her shop, late at night, when all the other women were off on a vacation to their homes!

"Well, he _did_ help me," mumbled Sophie, trying to find an excuse to herself. "And now I need to get him dry so he does not catch a nasty cold on top of that terrible gash." She got up and grabbed a fluffy white towel from a closet. Sophie walked back to the man and patted him dry, being especially careful not to hurt him or wake him up. Fortunately, the man was not very wet below the waist. She set the clothes in the laundry basket; she would wash them tomorrow. Then she went and got a wheeled cart with a wide platform from the entrance that she used to carry heavy boxes and such and, with much grunting and pulling, got the man on top of the platform securely.

As she pushed the cart along the hallway, she thought about this mysterious rescuer. Why had he been injured? Who was he running from? How long will he stay here?

Sophie blushed at the last question. _Well, it is not my wish to have him here,_ she thought. _But the women wouldn't mind having such a man in the store for some time._

Sophie arrived at the extra room that was at the very end of the hallway. She pulled the man onto the bed and pulled the blanket over him. _I know it's summer, but there is a nasty storm out there, and he is shirtless. _She turned to leave, when the man lifted his head, grabbed her wrist and pulled her down to his face. Sophie was frozen with shock. "Thank you." His voice was barely audible. The mysterious gentleman pressed his lips to hers and then fell back asleep.

A/N: This is my first story :D Hope you enjoy it, and I'll try to upload as soon as I can – I know how it feels not to be able to read a story you've started, whether it's good or not.


	2. Chapter 2: The Gift That Took Away

Disclaimer: I do not own Howl's Moving Castle or any of its characters. I dedicate this story to Ms. Jones, the author of this book, who passed away March the 26th, 2011.

Please look at bottom of page for Author's Notes...

Chapter Two: The Gift That Took Away

The sun spread its magnificent beams of color over the hills. Sophie had woken up early, because she was not able to fall asleep properly. She sat on her bed, her knees pulled up to her chin, and looked out the window to the still rising sun.

Last night, she had her first kiss.

Just like that. A quick and completely unexpected little peck on her lips.

Her first kiss that she will never get back, gone just like that.

She clenched her teeth and fists in frustration. _I've always daydreamed about my first kiss,_ she thought_. How gentle my love was going to be, placing his lips on mine, the way it would make me feel tingly and just full of love for him._ Sophie dropped her head onto her arms, which were placed across her knees. Sighing, she got up from her bed and walked across to her wooden closet. She slid open the door, and tried to pick from a variety of dresses which one she was going to wear.

Sophie grouchily pulled a gray-blue dress off the rack. _It's not exactly the princess' ball gown,_ she thought as she pulled off her white nightgown and put on the dress. _But it matches my mood right now._

* * *

><p>Howl awakened from his sleep, a slight frown on his face as the bright sun reached out to his face through the window. After stirring in the bed for a few seconds, he opened his eyes halfway, looking at his surroundings. After a few seconds of confusion, he remembered what had happened last night. Howl felt grateful to the girl that had brought him in, and – he lifted up his arm – had bothered to treat and wrap his wound. He pulled himself up so that he leaned against the wooden headboard of the bed, sitting up.<p>

Looking around the room, he saw ivory and blue flowered wallpaper which looked pretty worn, a sky blue lamp on a wooden drawer, and a beige carpet on the floor.

_Such a drab, plain house,_ he thought, _but there's something that adds a comforting touch… _He took a whiff of the air. Was it Jasmine? It seemed like a familiar scent, wafting into the room through the space between the door and the floor.

Howl got up, ignorant of his shirtless-ness, and tiredly walked out of the room and down the carpeted hallway.

* * *

><p>The water for the jasmine tea was simmering quietly.<p>

Sophie was still sitting on a chair, fantasizing about what her ideal first kiss would have been when the man walked into the kitchen. With her chin supported by her hand, elbow on the table, she was slumping on the wooden surface. _He would whisper sweet nothings into my ear as he laughed, his fragrant breath caressing my lips-_

"Good morning,"

Sophie let out a short cry of fright and fell out of the chair.

The man ran over to her. "I'm so sorry; I did not mean to scare you."

She glanced up at the hand the man was holding out in front of her, considered flicking it away with the back of her hand, but hesitantly placed her hand in his. Howl swiftly pulled her to her feet.

"Thank you." muttered Sophie, still confused and bitter towards him for shattering her ideals of a first kiss.

"Are you alright?" he asked, as he put his hand on her back and led her back to the chair. "I apologize. I should have been more obvious about my presence; you seemed in deep thought."

Sophie tensed up. "It-it's alright." She stuttered. "Would you like breakfast?

A/N: I DEEPLY apologize for my taking so long to upload this! I've been very, very busy, and was having writer's block for an eternity… I also was having technical problems (Fanfiction would NOT upload my story for some odd reason)… Once again, I am SO sorry to those who were waiting D: But I could simply not come up with anything, and I, being a teenager, was of course, too lazy.

Btw, I've noticed that I put in M for the rating… oops.

I don't know if I'm going to go that far XD so I'll put it as T for now…

I will write when I get the inspiration/idea, and thank you for your kind reviews that I don't deserve (It shows on my gmail, and all the nice comments were driving me crazy with guilt).


	3. Chapter 3: A Pleasantly Mysterious Intro

Disclaimer: I do not own Howl's Moving Castle or any of its characters. I dedicate this story to Ms. Jones, the author of this book, who passed away March the 26th, 2011.

Chapter Three: A Pleasantly Mysterious Introduction

Sophie stared at Howl as they ate their breakfast of jasmine tea, buttered sweet rolls and cookies.

First of all, he was a half naked stranger (only wearing his pants and his dark brown shoes), his whole upper torso completely bare.

Second of all, she noticed, he was absolutely dazzling.

As he ate, he would occasionally look up from his plate of food to her face – at which Sophie would blush and look down at her own plate – and smile, his teeth perfect pearly whites. Also, she noticed his eyes had a green tint among the blue, making his eyes the color of a tropical ocean. His skin was like porcelain, except it had more color. He had shining blond hair, accented by earrings that were the shade of green in his eyes.

_How could a man be so beautiful?_ Sophie stared at him again in wonder. _And his eyes... I've never seen such a hue... how could I not have noticed it last night? _Her face flushed as she remembered the kiss, and she gave a shake to her head to chase out the thought.

"I don't know how to thank you," Howl told her. "I am extremely grateful for what you did last night for me. Although I don't remember very much of it…" He turned his head slightly to the right, looking out the window. It was a very sunny day (a complete opposite atmosphere from her dress).

_He doesn't remember much?_ A sudden realization. _Is it possible… that he doesn't remember the kiss? Is that why he seems so comfortable and not in the slightest bit awkward?_

Sophie suddenly felt much more relieved, as if the weight of life had lifted off of her.

"Well, it's not like I had much choice," She said, no longer uncomfortable, smiling. "You kind of collapsed on top of me after you helped me out of the flirting situation with those guards."

Howl laughed, his voice clear and ringing throughout the room.

"What is your name?" He said as he leaned in closer to Sophie.

She blushed, tucked her chin in a little in embarrassment, and answered, "Sophie."

The man smiled at her, and stood up from the table. He looked out the window again. "Sophie, I see…" He looked back at her in an apologetic way. "They call me Pendragon." He did a little bow. "Pleased to meet you, Sophie." He smiled back.

"Pleased to meet you also, Pendragon," Sophie smiled back as she also stood and curtsied, holding out her gray dress that suddenly seemed brighter and happier, the colors of the sunrise dying her dress the same bright orange.

She flushed as she glanced down at his bare torso. "Now let's get you dressed back again."

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter :P I think it'd work best for me if I wrote short chapters and uploaded them on the weekends/whenever I have time. Sorry for the unprofessional-ness also XD Just another teenager attempting to write…


	4. Chapter 4: long title, look in intro

Disclaimer: I do not own Howl's Moving Castle or any of its characters. I dedicate this story to Ms. Jones, the author of this book, who passed away March the 26th, 2011.

*QUICK A/N* I write from a third person POV, but the scenes in which I focus on Sophie's feelings and thoughts and scenes in which I focus on Howl's feelings and thoughts are separated. Sorry if this is confusing, but when it is "third person POV looking at Howl", I will use the name Howl, while for Sophie's I'll use the name Pendragon, as that is what she has been told is his name. More about my return to this story is at the official Author's Note at the bottom.

Chapter Four: The Shirt Is Now Clean White, The Man Is Still Not Quite

"Oh!" said Sophie.

"Oh?" said Pendragon.

The two were looking down at the laundry basket.

"I'm so sorry! I forgot to wash your blood out from that shirt…" Sophie sheepishly looked up at Pendragon. "I was just so tired from the day before…Oh, _goodness!_ I just let it sit there, stained with blood all night and now I don't know if it will come out…No, I'll wash this right now. I _will_ get this shirt clean." She hurriedly snatched the shirt up from the basket and was about to run to the laundry room when Pendragon stopped her.

"No, no. It's fine," Pendragon gave her a sincere, reassuring smile. "I'm the one who imposed upon you." He gently took the stained clothing from Sophie's hands. "Though I _am_ a man, I can do my own laundry." He gave a little laugh, and then started walking towards the laundry room, down the hardwood-floored hallway. His brown leather shoes made subtle tapping sounds as it hit the floor with each step.

Sophie stared at him for a moment, and then also started walking towards the room. "Hold on, Pendragon. You don't know where all the soaps and whatnot are located—mmph!" His sudden stop made Sophie bump into his broad back, his bare skin muffling her words as it made contact with her lips. She quickly backed away a few steps, turning the color of well-ripened apples. "Sorry…um, I'll show you where everything is, then..." She started walking into the room, looking down in embarrassment.

A benign hand gently stopped her advance to the door. "Thank you, but it's fine," He answered. "I am _sure_ I can do without having to make you go through the trouble." Pendragon smiled once again, and walked into the room with his shirt. "You can go and finish the tea. That is a _very_ fragrant and soothing Jasmine tea." He quickly added before closing the door.

Sophie stood looking at the door for a minute to reassure herself and in case he came to change his mind, but he did not call for her. Walking back to the kitchen where her unfinished tea sat, she let her thoughts take over.

Something kind of seemed off about the way he had reacted…most people in his situation would just let her wash it for them, or help her do it, or _at least_ let her show him where the things were… Why did he insist on washing his shirt completely by himself?

_Yeah, something definitely seems off, but I can't quite put my finger on it,_ thought Sophie, as she sat down in her spot. The tea had already turned lukewarm. She sighed and brought the teacup to her lip, still thinking about her new guest.

* * *

><p>Howl collapsed onto the small wooden chair in the corner of the laundry room, extremely tired both mentally and physically. He slumped down his chair as he sighed, looking up at the ivory ceiling. "Sorry, Sophie. I just need time to think by myself for a moment," he whispered towards the ceiling.<p>

He knew he was inconveniencing another person again. _Well, rather,_ he thought, with a morose smile, _another lady._

"The witch has _got_ to stop chasing me around," Howl muttered quietly. "And I'll beat the living daylight out of the guy who ignited this whole huntdown…'Eat the heart of a skilled male wizard, and live in eternal beauty!' Yeah, as if." He scoffed, making a hard fist with his right hand. "That just…ugh, I hate to put women in danger, but the witch is much less likely to find me by my aura and scent if I mix my scent with that of women by staying in their residence…"

And this was a young lady, too. She seemed about twenty or so… just a little older than what you would consider to be a teenager.

Howl sat up in his chair. _I'll just stay for a few days…just until Calcifer moves the castle far enough away. _Satisfied with his conclusion, he looked down at his lap. _Oh, right. The stain._ He got up, intending to find the laundry soap, but sat back down. _I would rather not impose upon Sophie even more by using her supplies…after all, I'm not a wizard for nothing._

Howl closed his eyes and breathed in softly. Then he started to wave the shirt around slowly, with his right hand, stirring the air. He continued to wave the shirt around, gradually getting faster and faster, and when it looked like his arm wouldn't be able to move any faster, the shirt was thrown up into the air, almost reaching the ceiling, and it lightly fell back into Howl's outstretched arms.

Howl took hold of it with his fingers, and held it out, examining both front and back. The large, dried up brownish bloodstain was now nowhere to be found; the shirt was now like winter's first snow, soft and sparkling white. He nodded once in satisfaction, then put the shirt back on before he opened the door of the laundry room to go to our Sophie, who was now spacing out again with the cup still to her lips, moments away from spilling out the carelessly tilted cup.

A/N: First of all…

I AM REALLY SINCERELY ABSOLUTELY SORRY! TT_TT

I have been extremely busy, as I went into high school, and a lot has happened… I guess it might look like I'm trying to make excuses for my extremely long absence but…my family discovered that my mom had breast cancer, and since my dad is in a different country working his butt off for us, and my little brother is, well, little…I've been doing a LOT of stuff around the house and more. And I do admit, I did not know what more to write back in the beginning of 8th grade (when I first started writing this story, oh my goodness, I am going into 10th now XD) so I kind of gave up/forgot about this…

But I still got notifications on my gmail that someone else had favorited Blooming Love, and that someone wrote a review—I mean, 48 favorites and 33 reviews for such an unprofessional story! I am really thankful and guilty ^^;;;; I found an old storybook I had made for class in 6th grade and read it to my brother, and also re-read the three chapters of Blooming Love and that inspired me again to write, so I planned this part of the plot out and typed this whole thing today (so sorry if it's bad XD)

I will try to continue this (I feel like I'll write a few more chapters and just have a "and it continues on" thing where after a wrap-up chapter I'll tell you guys what point of the plot (in the movie, probably) it will flow into and I'll just finish it like that. That has been my plan from the beginning (to tweak the beginning story a bit and let it flow back into a certain time of the original movie story), so I'll most likely go along with that.

I was really touched by you guys telling me that you guys like the story, that I should continue and so on…so although I can't make any promises (since I kind of broke them already ;_;) I will try to write more chapters. Please keep in mind that it has been like 2 years since I wrote the last chapter, haha XP I will try to be consistent with the characters and all! Thank you for all your love that I TOTALLY do not deserve!


End file.
